road of natives who might hinder communications. On March 18, 1750, according to British accounts of the battle, a group of Rangers under the command of John Gorham (military officer) left Fort Sackville (now Bedford, Nova Scotia), under orders from Cornwallis to march to Pisiguit (in present-day Windsor). Their mission was to establish a blockhouse at Pisiguit (i.e., Fort Edward), and to seize the property of Acadians who had participated in the Siege of Grand Pre. Arriving at about noon on March 20 at the Acadian village of Five Houses beside the St. Croix River, Gorham and his men found all the houses deserted. Seeing a group of Mi'kmaq hiding in the bushes on the opposite shore, the Rangers opened fire. The skirmish deteriorated into a siege, with Gorham's men taking refuge in a sawmill and two of the houses. During the fighting around "Battle Hill", the Rangers suffered three wounded including Gorham, who sustained a bullet in the thigh. As the fighting intensified, a request was sent back to Fort Sackville for reinforcements. On March 22, responding to the call for assistance, Cornwallis ordered Captain William Clapham's Rangers and Captain George St. Loe of the 40th Regiment of Foot, equipped with two field guns, to join Gorham at Pisiguit. The additional troops and artillery turned the tide for Gorham and forced the Mi'kmaq to withdraw. Aftermath After the siege, Gorham and the additional troops continued on to Pisiguit. Arriving there, Gorham established himself at the Parish Church of L'Assomption (in present-day Fort Edward) and proceeded to scour the surrounding countryside in a search-and-destroy mission against the Mi'kmaq. Richard Bulkeley wrote that between 1749 and 1755, Nova Scotia "was kept in an uninterrupted state of war by the Acadians... and the reports of an officer commanding Fort Edward (Nova Scotia), [indicated he] could not be conveyed [to Halifax] with less an escort than an officer and thirty men." In March 1750, the Mi'kmaq and Acadian militias killed Cornwallis' messenger who was en route from Halifax to Chignecto. As a result, Cornwallis stopped sending small parties out of Halifax. References Literature cited Landry, Peter. The Lion & The Lily. Vol. 1. Victoria: Trafford, 2007. Rompkey, Ronald, ed. Expeditions of Honour: The Journal of John Salusbury in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1749–53. Newark: U of Delaware P, Newark, 1982. External links Blue Pete – Battle at St. Croix primary source Conflicts in 1750